Newly-inaugurated Mayor Corey O’Connor used part of his first full day in office — and his first executive order — to make good on a campaign promise to smooth the path for developers doing business in Pittsburgh.

The order, signed in the mayor’s office amid made-for-TV appearances around town and meetings with the new staff, directs leaders of city departments to advise him within 60 days on how to “revamp” the city’s permitting process in hopes of reducing the time builders and developers need to wait before beginning construction.

A man in a suit sits at a wooden desk speaking, with the City of Pittsburgh Office of the Mayor seal visible in the foreground.
Mayor Corey O’Connor talks to the media after signing his first executive order to streamline the permitting process in the city, on Jan. 6, in the mayor’s conference room at the City-County Building. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

“We know that we can grow Pittsburgh if we speed these processes up, and that we’re open, not only for business, but for new homeowners,” O’Connor said.

The day-one move builds on Monday’s inaugural address, in which he lamented that the city has held to a “culture of no.”

O’Connor said he has been meeting with architects, contractors, unions and community groups to “get their stories on what the hold up is,” placing a focus on working with small developers who have fewer resources with which to navigate bureaucracy.

His administration has added a public-facing liaison for developers both large and small who want help obtaining permits.

“I think everybody in the city has my cell phone,” the mayor said, “so they can definitely get in touch with the mayor’s office, and we want you to.”

People sit and eat at tables and a counter inside a small diner, while staff prepare food behind the counter.
Mayor Corey O’Connor has breakfast with City Council President R. Daniel Lavelle at Grandma B’s in the Hill District on Jan. 6. The two spoke about redevelopment priorities in the historic neighborhood. Seated behind them, Abdul Jabar, a diner regular, of Homewood, said his hope was that the mayor could work on the real estate issues in the city. “When you go to purchase land there’s so many complications these days. There was a time you could go get property, pay the money for the back taxes and acquire the land,” he said. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

O’Connor’s open stance toward developers is exactly what many of them told Public Source they were hoping for last year when they contributed to his campaign.

O’Connor enjoyed a financial advantage in last spring’s contentious primary election thanks in no small part to the development, construction and real estate industries, which accounted for at least a quarter of his campaign contributions.

A person presses a gold foil seal onto an official document, with both hands visible on the paper.
James Hill, assistant chief of staff to Mayor Corey O’Connor, places the mayor’s seal on O’Connor’s first executive order, Jan. 6, in the mayor’s conference room at the City-County Building. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A Public Source analysis in March found that 80% of the $359,000 in contributions identified with the real estate, development and construction industries went to O’Connor.

Some executives said then that they felt Gainey’s administration was not sufficiently friendly to development and it took too long to get permits, and they backed O’Connor in search of a mayor who would answer their phone calls. At the time, a Gainey administration official said that approach could facilitate “calling in political favors to get preferred treatment.”

O’Connor said the executive order signed Tuesday pertained only to permitting and would not affect community input, planning and zoning processes, which projects must clear before obtaining work permits.

“We’re not going to cut out the neighborhood process,” O’Connor said. Once a project reaches the permitting stage, “it’s gotten all the approvals. This is where it stalls out … It just takes way too long at that point.”

A group of people in business and casual attire walk on a city sidewalk, with some looking upward and others looking ahead.
Mayor Corey O’Connor walks through Downtown with community leaders and his department heads on his first day in office, Jan. 6. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, who had representatives with the walk, have been working with city, state, and federal government to figure out possibilities for converting older office space into housing and revamping sections of the neighborhood. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Busy first day

O’Connor’s first full day took him through a packed schedule of public events highlighting his core campaign promises. A walk to school with a Squirrel Hill family, breakfast at a Hill District diner and a public safety “blitz” through Downtown with his new police leadership bookended meetings with his newly-formed cabinet and staff.

During a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, part of which was observed by reporters, new safety leaders said they feel confident the city will be well prepared for the NFL Draft in April, an event that will bring hundreds of thousands of football fans to the city.

  • A group of people, including two children in red and green jackets and several adults, walk across a crosswalk on a snowy street while others watch and take photos.
  • A man behind a checkered counter talks with two men standing in front of him in a restaurant kitchen. Takeout containers are stacked on the counter.
  • A group of people sit and take notes around a large conference table during a meeting, with others standing in the background against a blue wall.
  • A man in a suit sits at a wooden desk, signing a document. The American flag and another flag stand in the background.
  • A man in a blue suit smiles and shakes hands with a woman across a table, surrounded by others in a classroom setting.
  • A group of five adults stand together indoors, engaged in conversation. One woman in a floral sweater smiles while talking to a man in a suit and tie.
  • Three men in suits sit at a diner counter with sandwiches and drinks, while one adds hot sauce to his food. A colorful mural is visible on the wall behind them.
  • A man wearing glasses and a suit speaks to reporters holding microphones during a rainy day; several people and umbrellas are visible in the background.
  • Several people stand around a cracked and uneven sidewalk next to a storm drain; one person is taking a photo of the damaged pavement.
  • A group of men in business attire stand at a crosswalk in an urban area, with buildings and a red traffic signal visible in the background.
  • A man in glasses and a dark coat gestures upward with both hands while speaking, standing in front of a stone archway.

Slideshow: Mayor Corey O’Connor invited reporters along on his first full day in office. He walked young Aaron and Eli to school in Squirrel Hill to highlight route safety for students, talked redevelopment in the Hill District with City Council President R. Daniel Lavelle at Grandma B’s Cafe, met with staff in the mayor’s office and signed his first executive order, visited the West End Senior Center, met IBEW members at Primanti’s in the Strip, and walked Downtown to document needed infrastructure improvements. He capped the day meeting with council leadership and Zone 3 Police. (Photos by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

“There’s already a tremendous amount of work on the public safety front that’s been put into the draft,” said Jason Lando, O’Connor’s pick for chief of police, pending City Council confirmation.

An official from the city’s Department of Innovation and Performance said NFL cybersecurity personnel would visit the city soon to conduct a “tabletop exercise” to go over “what could possibly go wrong.”

Charlie Wolfson is the local government reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

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Charlie Wolfson is an enterprise reporter for Pittsburgh's Public Source, focusing on local government accountability and politics in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. He was a Report for America corps...